Sifter package for pharmaceuticals



Nov. 5, 1946. M. R. FIELDS SIFTER PAckAGB on PHARMACEUTICALS Fiid Jan. '5, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 5, 1946.

. 'S SheetS-Sheet 2 M. R. FIELDS SIFTERPACKAGE FOR PHARMACEUTICALS Filed Jan. 6, 1944 r 46 M. R. 'F'ms- 2,410, 3

SIFTER PACKAGE FOR PHARmAcBbTicALs Filed Jan. 6, 1944 :s Shegts-Sheec s Patented Nov. 5, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFHCE Mack R. Fields, Chicago, Laboratories, a corp Application January 6, 1

6 Claims. (Cl. 206-6322) tes to the packaging of powdered or similar pharmaceutical preparations in a manner in which the preparation may be maintained in a sterile condition and conveniently dispensed by sifting directly from the package. The package herein described is designed particularly for the packaging of certain sulfa drugs in granular form which are employed in surgery by being sprinkled or sifted into the incision or into open wounds for control of infection.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a package of the character indicated, the component parts of which may be manufactured by more -or less conventional envelope-making machineryand thereby produced in large numbers at a high rate of speed; to provide such a package which may be easily opened by the person about to use it immediately before sifting material from the package into the incision or wound; to provide such a package which will be effective to maintain its contents sterile notwith standing the This invention rela y andquickly filled and asin general, it i s the object-of the invention to provide an improved package of the character indicated.

Other objects and adv pack sembled; and

antages of the improved ank from which an outer essive steps in foldthe outer envelope the 'outer envelope r envelope being also outer envelope;

of a blank from which there is nvelope;

' 5 is a plan formed an inner e Fig. 6 is a Fig. 5

Fig. 7 is a perspective inner envelope in its closed condition;

Fig. 8 is a plan of the upper or sifter end of the inner envelope in the partially folded condition illustrated in Fig. 6;

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are side elevations, Fig. 10 being partially in section, illustrating successive steps in the closing of the sifter end of the inner envelope;

Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are perspectives illustrating he opening of the package preparatory to dispensing the contents oi the inner envelope, and

Ill., assignor to Abbott oration of Illinois 944, Serial No. 517,212

Fig. 15-is aperspective of opening the sitter end of the inner for dispensing purposes.

Referring now to the dra velope consists of a suitabl -main wall-formin sides of the panel which are adapte package wings, the outer ene paper blank having a g panel l5. From the opposite Hi, there extend flaps i6 and I! d to be folded inwardly over the i5 toform the second or other side wall of the outer envelope. The flap It has its margin coated with adhesive, as indicated at it, and such adhesive engages the outside surface of the flap ll, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 2, to permanently unite said flaps and to hold them in their co-operating wall-forming position. The upper end portions of the flaps l6 and I! have corner portions cut away, or recessed, and

ened longitudinally,

As shown, the slits I the lines 23 and 2! ll are folded relative 25 folded condition of the fia and 22 extend upwar from the inner ends of From the upper end as indicated at'Zl and 22. 9 and 20 terminate short of ps, the tear lines 21 dly and slightly inwardly said slits.

shown at 33. When preparation (or other mate The inner envelope is preferably of the construction shown in Figs. 5 to 11 inclusive. It is formed from a blank having the form illusillustrating the method panel l6 and, in the .trated in Fig.

- from the top and '4! of adhesive carcass and which comprises a main panel 36, side flaps 31 and 38 extending from the side edges of said main panel, and bottom flaps 38 and 48 respectively extending bottom ends of the said main panel 3. The flap 31 is provided with a stripe extending longitudinally thereof adjacent but spaced inwardly from the free side edge thereof, and it is folded inwardly over the main panel 36 and over the side flap 38 which is initially folded The flaps 31 and 38 are thus adhesively united to form the second side wall or the inner envelope, the main panel 38 forming the first wall.

The upper end flap 39 embodies an outer end portion 42 and inner portions 43 and 44. The portion 42 'is connected to the portion 43 by a suitable fold line 45, and the portions 48 and 44 are similarly connected to each other by a foldline 46, the portion 44 being connected to the end of the panel 38. by a fold line 41. The sections 43 and 44 havetheir ends notched, as indicated at 48 and 48 respectively and they are provided with a plurality of suitably spaced diamond-shaped openings 58*, which have their major dimension extending transversely of the intermediate fold line 46, and their minor dimension parallel to and in alignment with said fold line 46.

After the side flaps the wall-forming position the top end flap 38 is folded through the steps illustrated in Figs. 6 to 11 inclusive to form a sifter end closure and to close the upp r end or the envelope. The upper end flap sections 43 and 44 are folded into face-to-face engagement or to a position approaching such face-to-face engagement, as clearly shown in Figs. 6 and 9; thenthe side edges of the partially formed envelope are pressed toward-each other so as to cause the side walls thereof to bulge and separate as shown in Figs. 6 and 8. When the envelope is thus caused to open, it will be observed that the inwardly notched ends 48 and 48 of the flap sections 43 and 44 cause the ends of the folded sections to lie within the open end of the envelope, and the V-shaped notches in each section 43 and 44 serve to facilitate curving 31 and 38 are folded into of the folded flap portions 43 and 44 into conformity with the-curvature of the wall 36.

The next step in the folding oi the sitter end of the envelope is to fold the flap portion 42 downwardly over the upper end by the flaps 31 and 38, thereby incidentally tuming the folded sections 48 and 44 downwardly into the open end of the envelope, as shown in Fig. 10. Upon completion of the downward folding of the flap section '42, the upper end of the envelope may again be flattened or closed, the sections 43 and 44 being then brought into face to face engagement with each other and with the respective walls of'the envelope so that the said sifter end is eflectively closed. The flap.

section 42 may be adhesivelysecured in closed position by the provision of a suitable stripe ii of adhesive on the inside surface of the flap section 42.

. The adhesive employed in the construction of the inner envelope is applied in spaced relation to the edges of the various flaps so that when the naps are' folded to their closed positions, adhesive will not be squeezed out beyond the edges of the flaps. the outside .of the envelope being thereby maintained clean and free from illustrated in Fig. 6,-

top and end to the position illustrated in Fig. 7. The

inwardly over the panel 36.

any cause of adhesion to the walls of the outer envelope.

The inner envelope may be filled with the desired quantity of sulfanilamide, or other pharmaoeutical preparation or material, through the remaining open bottom end of the envelope whereupon the open bottom end may be closed by folding the lower end flap 48 over the open flap 4! may be adhesively secured in its closed position as indicated.

The inner envelope with its content of material may then be inserted through the open bottom the Sifter sive, as indicated at 53,

of the outer envelope illustrated in Fig. 3. During the handling of the inner envelope, suitable precaution is, of course, exercised to maintain the sifter end in its flattened closed position, as illustrated in Figs. 7 and ll, so that the content of the envelope will not be discharged through end. After the inner envelope is inserted into the outer envelope, a flap 52 which projects from the lower end of the main panel I! of the outer envelope, is folded into closed position overlying the outer envelope wall formed by the flaps l6 and II. The said bottom flap 52 may be provided with a. suitable coating of adhewhich will adhesively secure the flap 52 to the wail-forming flaps l8 and I1 so as to maintain the outer envelope closed.

The package formed as above described may be made of a suitable grade of paper, preferably a strong, fine-grain paper which is not excessively porous. The entire package is then preferably subjected to a sterilizing treatment which may consist of a dry heat'treatment for a period of about two hours at a temperature of around 285 F.

Tests have indicated that when the package is formed as above described, and sterilized in the manner indicated, it will remain sterile indefinitely at least so far outer envelope and the inner envelope are concerned. Some care should; of course, be exercised to make sure that the adhesive stripe 28 which seals the upper end flap of the outer envelope to the body thereof forms an imperforate line of junction between the flap 25 and the wall 4 formed by the flaps I8 and i1, and alsothat sufof the wall formed shown, the body of the package flcient adhesive is applied to the lower flap 52 to hold the said flap in tight face-to-face engagement with the underlying wall of the envelope. It is perhaps not essential that adhesive be employed between all of the area of the flap 52 and the underlying surfaces ofthe envelope, but it is desirable that care be exercised to insure tight folding of the flap over the end of the envelope so that there remains no distended opening between of the envelope. The same consideration is applicable in respect of the sealing of the upper flap 2! to the underlying wallet the envelope.

The preferred method of opening the envelope so as to maintain sterility of the inner envelope, or at least, so as to avoid contamination of the dispensing end portion of the inner envelope, is illustrated in Figs. l2, l3 and l4. As there y b r p d in one hand while an unsecuredmaiginal end portion of the top flap 28 is gripped between the fingers of the other hand preparatory to pulling saidiiap upwardly and away from the envelope wall to which it is adhesively attached. Separation of the adhesive joint formed by the adhesive stripe 28 is facilitated by reason of the angular disposition of the portions 8| and 32 of the as the interior of the the flap and the underlying wall .and 22.

said adhesive stripe which results in a point 33 in which thetearing force is initially localized and from which the separation proceeds gradually toward each side. Such progressive separation is much easier to accomplish than would be the simultaneous separation of the entire length of an equivalent transverse lineof adhesive. In the course of unfolding the flap 25, the adhesive connections between the flap and the portions 34 and 35 of the side walls are not separated but, instead, said portions 84 and 8B are separated from the wall of the envelope. This result is assured by proper regulation of the amount and character of the adhesive employed in theareas 26 and 21, and by the provision of the slits l9 and 20 and weakened tear lines 2| For manufacturing convenience, slight bonds may be retained in the slit lines l9 and near the inner edges of the flap portions 3t and 35, although such bonds are not essential. Such bonds may be provided as indicated at 53-53 in Fig. 1. The bonds-should be sufliciently narrow that they will not interfere with the separation of the portions 34 and 35 from the envelop wall along the full length of the slit lines is and 2B.

The unfolding movement of the flap is continued rearwardly until the fiap may be tucked between the fingers of the hand holding the body of the envelope, as shown in Fig. 14, such folding of the flap being also accompanied by supplementary folding of the body of the outer envelope transversely along a line extending approximately at the level of the outer ends 5t5 i of the upper edges of the envelopewall formed by the removal of the portions 3t and 35. The angular disposi tion of the tear lines 2| and 22 facilitate such folding by maintaining to a minimum the width of the side wall areas 55-55 (Fig. 13) atthe line of fold. Said angular disposition of the tear lines. 2| and 22 serves also to provide adequate width of wall with which the side portions of the adhesive stripe 28 may be engaged, while also holding down said width sumciently to avoid substantial (if any) overlap of these portions on the inner envelope.

By the opening procedure described, the inner envelope is caused to project substantially from the outer envelope, the sifter end of the inner en velope being thus exposed. A surgeon about toemploy the contents of the inner envelope, in the exercise of due caution, may then withdraw the inner envelope by means of a pair of forceps, or the like, and proceed to sift the contents of the the use of forceps is not a necessity, inasmuch as a surgeon may grasp the inner envelope at a point spaced substantiallyfrom the sifter end and withdraw it from the outer envelope. Then, by pressing together the edges of the inner envelope near its sifter end, the walls thereof may be caused to bulge and the sifter end distended, as shown in V Fig. 15,-to thereby open the diamond-shaped disenvelope into an incision or wound. However,

envelope against sidewise When the inner envelope is inserted into the outer envelope, it is desirable that'some care be exercised to center it therein so that when the package is opened, the inner envelope will be substantially midway between the tear lines 2| and 22. thereby to avoid overlapping of the inner envelope by the side wall areas 53 and 55 of the outer envelope. The length of the inner envelope is preferably such as to fit snugly within the length of the outer envelope; this close-fitting relation, together with the pinching or gripping effect of the walls of the outer envelope on the inner envelope serves to eilfectively hold the inner container.

The described structure is capable of some modification without departing from the principles of the structure and such modifications are accordingly intended to be covered by some of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apackage of the class described comprising an inner container, an outer envelope enclosing said inner container, said envelope having a pair of walls and a closure flap extending from the upper end. of one of said walls, said flap being folded over the outside of the other wall to close the envelope, said other wall being provided with a centrally disposed opening in its upper end and with weakened lines of severance extending outwardlyfrom the side edges defining said central opening, into proximity to the outer edges of the envelope, and thence upwardly toward the upper end of the wall, said lines of severance defining readily removable inner corner portions, said flap being adhesively secured to said removable corner portions and also to the wall of the envelope below said corner portions, said envelope being adapted to be opened by pulling saidfiap from said otherwall so as to break the adhesive bond between the flap and said wall below said removable corner portions, the adhesive bond between said flap and said removable portions being of such strength that said removable portions will remain united to the flap and be removed from the envelope wall to thereby form in said envelope an opening afiording free access to said inner container.

2. A package of the class described comprising an inner container, an outer envelope enclosing said inner container, said envelope having a pair of walls and a closure flap extending from the upper end of one of said walls, said flap being folded over the outside of the other wall to close ,the envelope, said other wall being provided with a centrally disposed opening in its upper end and with weakened lines of severance extending outwardly from the side edges defining said central opening, into proximity to the outer edges of the envelope, and thence upwardly and inwardly toward the upper end of the wall, said lines of severance defining readily removable inner corner portions, said flap being adhesively secured to said removable corner portions, and also .to the wall of the envelope below said corner portions and between the latter and the side edges of the envelope, said envelope being adapted to be opened by pulling said flap so as to break said last-mentioned adhesive bond, the adhesive bond between said flap and said removable portions being of such strength that said removable portions will remain united to the flap and be removed from the envelope wall, the upper portion of the wall from which said flap extends being outwardly ioldable upon itself along a line approximately shifting in the outerv registering with the lower edge of said central opening in said other wall,:thereby to expose an end portion of said innercontainer. i 3. A package or the class described comprisin an inner, material-containing envelope, an outer envelope having closed ends and an internal length only sligh eater than the external length of said inner envelope, whereby the closed ends or said outer envelope are eilective to hold the walls thereof in tight frictional engagement with the walls of the innerenvelope adjacent the ends of the package, thereby to resist shifting of the inner envelope in the outer envelope, one.

or said closed ends of the outer envelope comprising a fiap extending from-the upper end of one of the walls of the envelope, said fiap being folded over the outside of the other wall to close containedthe envelope to project therefrom in readily accessibleposition.

6. A package or the class described comprising an inner container and an outer envelope enclosing said inner container, said envelope having a I P r of walls and a closure flap extending from the end of one of said walls and folded over the adjacent end portion of the other wall to close the envelope, said other wall being provided with weakened lines of severance cooperating with the adjacent and edge of the wall to define removable wall material, said lines of severance embodying side portions adjacent but spaced inwardly from the side edges of the wall and extending downwardly from said end edge and lower portions of said lines of severance extending inwardly from the envelope, said other wall being provided with a centrally disposed opening in its upper end and with weakened lines of severance extending outwardly from the side edges defining said central opening, into proximity to the outer edges of the envelope, and thence upwardly toward the upper end of the wall, said lines of severance defining readily removable inner corner portions, said flap being adhesively. secured to said-removable corner portions and also tothe wall of 4 the envelope below said corner portions and between the latter and the side edges or the envelope, said outer envelope being adapted to be said marginal side portions, said flap being adhesively secured in closed position to said removable wall material and also to said marginal side portions, the adhesive bond for said marginal side being bendable away from said inner container opened by pulling said flap from said other wall so as to break said last mentioned adhesive bond, th adhesive bond between said flap and said removable portions being oi such strength that said removabl portions will remain united to the flap and be removed from the outer envelope wall to'thereby enlarge said centrally disposed opening so as to exposed substantially the entire width oLthe upper end portion or said inner envelope, said-inner envelope being so disposed in th outer envelope as to be substantially centrally located relative to said enlarged opening, thereby facilitating folding of the upper portion of the flap-carrying wall away from the exposed portion of the inner envelope, to thereby afiord free access to the latter.

4. An envelope having a pair of walls and aclosure flap extending from the upper end of one of said walls, said fiap being folded over the outside of the other wall to close the envelope, said other viral! being provided with a centrally disposed opening in its upper end, and with weakened lines of severance extending outwardly from the side edges defining said central opening, and into proximity to the outer edges of said envelope, there being additional lines of severance extending upwardly from the outer ends of said first mentioned lines of. severance co-operating with the latter to define readily removable inner corner portions oi. said other wall, said flap being adhesively secured to said removable corner por-- tions and also to said other wall of the envelope adjacent but outwardly of said lines of severance, said envelope being openable by pulling said flap so as to break said last-mentioned adhesive bond, the adhesive bond between said fiap and said corner portions being of such strength that said corner portions will remain united to the flap, and be removed from the envelope wall, the upper portion oi the wall from which said fiap extends being outwardly ioldable upon itself along a lineapproximately registering with the lower edge or said central opening when the en- "ble for withdrawal from said outer envelope.

6. A package of the class described comprising an inner container and an outer envelope enclosing said inner container, said envelope having a pair of walls and a closure flap extending from the end 01 one of said walls and folded over the adjacent end portion 01 the other wall to close the envelope, said other wall being provided, with weakened lines of severance cooperating wlth the adjacent and edge of the wall to define removable wall material, said lines of severance embodying side portions adjacent but spaced inwardly from the side edges of the wall and extending downwardly from said end edge so as to provide narrow marginal side portions of the wall outwardly of said side portions of said lines of severance, there being also lower portions of said lines of severance extending inwardly from said marginal side portions, said flap being adhesively secured in closed position to said removable wall material and also to said marginal side portions and to adhesive bond to said side portions and below said removable material being weak enough to be breakabl by pulling said fiap away from said velope is opened, thereby to permit an element other wall, and the adhesive bond between said flap and said removable material being strong enough to cause said material to follow the flap and be separated from the wall when said flap is pulled thereirom, the upper end portion of the flap-bearing wail being bendable away from said inner container after separation or said removable material from said other wall, and said narrow marginal side. portions of the wall being readily displaceable by said inner container as an incident to such bending of said flap-bearing wall, whereby a portion of said inner container may be caused to project from said outer envelope and thereby made readily accessible for withdrawal from said outer envelope.

MACK R. FIELDS. 

